Formal contracts are important for players and when their contracts are about to expire it’s important to have an agreement so that they can stay with us. Sometimes, though, the promise doesn’t stop there.
Although Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are out of contract last season, it’s clear they love being the Reds and it’s only a matter of time before they renew.
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“Only Liverpool,” the captain said after confirming his contract extension, and that’s what fans need to feel when watching the game in the stands or on their TV screens at home. The connection must be established, otherwise poor performance will be assumed.
When it comes to Ibrahima Konate, it feels as if he can no longer prove where his heart is. Occasionally, he makes a lot of mistakes, but he puts his heart and soul into the game.
Konate’s professionalism deserves praise
While Liverpool have been working hard to agree a new contract with the defender over the past 12 months, we have heard little from him regarding his situation. We’ve heard his manager is at Real Madrid, with compatriot Kylian Mbappe teasing a trip to Spain to join him, but little else is known beyond that.
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In September, he responded to a post on the Anfield Index on X, in which David Lynch spoke about just how good of a defender the Frenchman really is, despite the fact that his pending deal has been falling through miserably.
All that noise aside, Konate is having a rough season. His performance has been highly analyzed due to his contract situation, and the defense has been more porous than in previous years. The team’s results fell well below expectations, and Konate received a lot of criticism.
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Whether or not this is related in any way is unknown, as we learned last November from The Athletic’s David Ornstein that Real Madrid were no longer interested in signing him for a free, an update that’s hard not to laugh at. Excluding himself from a free transfer is a pretty clear statement.
Recently, however, his performance levels have improved significantly and, as the Daily Mail’s Dominic King said on Saturday night’s X, “amidst all the noise, don’t lose sight of the positives”.
Against West Ham, he won seven of nine games, making 10 clearances and four recoveries. His clean work at the back was crucial in earning the team’s first clean sheet in 25 days.
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Against Sunderland in midweek he won eight of 12 duels, made two successful tackles, made seven clearances and made three recoveries, a testament to his performance. Despite the game ending in a 1-1 draw, the Black Cats managed just 0.41xg in 90 minutes.
A number of mistakes were made against Leeds United at Elland Road that cost the team, the most prominent of which was an unnecessary penalty which was inexcusable. In addition to the key turnover that helped the White team draw 3-3, he also won 7 duels, made 6 clearances and had 4 recoveries. Mistakes aside, there’s a lot to like about it, and of course, the comments are mostly negative.
But he returned again with a fresh mentality and did his job cautiously against Inter Milan. Given that only Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitiuk are out-and-out forwards in Slott’s squad, keeping a clean sheet will be crucial to Liverpool’s chances of victory.
He won four of his six duels and made three clearances and two recoveries. Inter Milan broke away from the defense at times, allowing Konate to successfully dribble and complete five long passes.
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Then we come to yesterday, when he was arguably in his best form in a long time. In the game against Brighton, the number of goals scored by both sides increased from 12 confrontations, 2 interceptions, 7 clearances, 2 blocks, 6 receptions, 4 long passes, 1 successful dribbling and 1 tackle. He was really bossy defensively.
Without wanting to overanalyze him, it’s important to recognize that the team’s overall performance has improved during this period of play, with Liverpool unbeaten in their last five games.
But everyone has to do their part, and Konate more than played his part. The most impressive thing is that, apart from his expiring contract, Liverpool have no substitute and need Joe Gomez at right back.
Defensive back Giovanni Leoni has been sidelined since suffering a torn ACL against Southampton on September 23. Since then, Liverpool have had three centre-backs, meaning Konate and Van Dijk have not rested in every game since October 29.
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Of course, there were times when fans wanted Konate dropped, although Slaughter couldn’t make that decision without thrusting an inexperienced academy player into the spotlight.
But Konate never complained or pushed back against the criticism. Instead, he’ll use it as motivation to improve and do the best he can the next time he’s put on the field. This requires courage. Everyone makes mistakes, we all admit that, but for the most part, he’s been back to his normal self.
Unlike some of the accusations Trent Alexander-Arnold has faced for “shooting down tools,” Conate is a true professional who deserves credit for the approach he took. It won’t be easy, but whether he stays or not, his bond with the fans is not lost.
We can’t make any assumptions about his future but his commitment to the club is second to none.